I haven't tried it myself .. however, certain Apache foundation projects and others are warning users against using Java 7 with Optimization settings ... ... ... due to a critical bug in JRE Hotspot ,,,

@JoshRoss:Didn't have an equally witty reply for the other two points, eh? Thought not.

Which third party frameworks should .NET developers wish they could use?

As for "diversity of platforms", what exactly are you talking about? How many different OSes that your application can run on or the absolute number of actual hardware devices that can run your application or the different kinds of hardware that can run your application?

Which third party frameworks should .NET developers wish they could use?

Sneaky ...

Of course .NET developers would not 'wish' to use any of these frameworks: as they have never encountered them then how could they 'wish' to use them? The fact remains that the Java framework ecosystem is much larger than the .NET which doesn't have the equivalent of the Wicket framework, or the Play framework. It doesn't have GWT (or the excellent Vaadin extension). It doesn't have a whole lot more, but those are the ones I've encountered as reasons for moving from .NET

As for "diversity of platforms", what exactly are you talking about? How many different OSes that your application can run on or the absolute number of actual hardware devices that can run your application or the different kinds of hardware that can run your application?

What do you think 'diversity of platforms' means? I think you're hoping that diversity means 'all the same platform but in large numbers?' Unfortunately, I don't think it does.

With .NET you get all sorts of "diversity of platforms":

Yeah, putting it in quotes kind of gives you away. The thing is that I'm running into an increasing number of contracts that are asking for Linux experience. Not sure what's brought this on, but I suspect that it's the recession rather than any technical merits. The place I'm currently working has dumped all their windows machines and installed Dell stations running Ubuntu. And I have to say, having been a Linux skeptic for most of my working life, I'm slightly impressed. It makes a fine work machine, but I still don't think it's what consumers are looking for (IMO). Anyway, they went with Java and are pretty happy with the decision. Why? Because they immediately left the limitations of the Java language (which trails so far behind C# now it's not funny) and opted for Groovy instead.

Absolute number of devices: 1.2+ billion PCs alone (don't know about the rest)

That's just numbers, not diversity. You're simply trying to move the argument to fall in line with the Microsoft brochure.

Yup, but Linux also has that covered, and that's still the same platform. In fact, if we use your notion of 'diversity' then Linux is actually available on a lot more hardware than Windows. Sometimes, folk don't choose Windows. Hard to believe, I know, but for those that don't, Java is still the choice option, especially since it also runs on Windows. (I think that vast majority of Java web apps are actually developed on Windows but are deployed on Linux).

I can see this "diversity" only increasing once Windows 8 for ARM is released to market.

There are those quotes again ... Nice try, but it's still Windows and, judging by the lack of impact that Windows7 Phone has had in the marketplace, that is not the guarantee of success it used to be.

Eclipse is great if you have a lot of RAM and don't pay attention to the hilariously complex menu system and find dialog that comes with having 100 plugins installed.

It just goes to show that throwing money at the problem doesn't necessarily produce the best results. Too many developers, each with their own ideas on how things should be laid out. Sometimes a single company with one cohesive approach works better.

I've always endorsed what Microsoft claims, and their domination of the desktop has proven it to be true. The problem with Linux on the desktop has always been the lack of a singular vision. Choice is great, but I happen to think that ease-of-use and consistency works better for users. I can't say I've ever seen a consumer get rid of Windows because they can't install their own UI.

Oh, I see! You think because I choose not use .NET then I must hate Microsoft. Mmm. I think that actually says more about you than me, perhaps. Try to broaden your thinking.